I live about 30 miles from where the eye of Hurricane Charlie traveled through. My area in Brevard County Florida received little damage. Recently I had a chance to drive over to Orlando, and was able to assess some of the damage from driving on the main roads. 5 days is barely anytime in regards to recovery, and there was still plenty to be seen.

Pictures do a much better job in showing the damage, but they make it difficult to gather the scope or magnitude of the damage. I was so disheartened when I saw old oak trees, probably 50-80 years old turned over on their sides. It was as if vandals of a higher order came into town and just wrecked havoc everywhere. I saw hundreds of trees turned over, but signs and roofs were seriously damaged as well.

I was so impressed to see a command center at the Florida Mall, with hundreds of trucks, being dispatched to make repairs throughout central Florida. Yet, I wonder. I can only imagine how hard the lineworkers are working to restore power, in both the extreme heat and rain.

I wonder what will happen to all the trees that have fallen over. Will there be any priority to remove them from their location, or if it is even possible to save the trees. To see the damage will weigh you down, because it seems never ending.

I’ve survived Earthquakes and now Hurricanes, and can count myself very lucky.

http://www.cfbb.org/

http://www.redcross.org/

Have you ever read the packaging on Snickers or Peanut M&Ms. We all know that they put on the side of the package, May Contain Peanuts. As if we were worried it might not. The reason I bring this important point to the forefront of discussion, is because this comes with more than just food. Take for instances the case with Linda Ronstadt, did she need the peanut warning for a person to know what she was about? How about anyone who talks to Michael Moore or Bill O’Reilly? Do you need the extra warning? The stupid shall be punished.

Maybe it’s just that any publicity is good publicity. And that’s unfortunate.

Bear with me as I work my way through various topics such as this one.

I support the idea of a military draft, when we need to. But I also support the idea of 2 years of National Service. While this may seem an expensive proposition, I believe that the broader impact would be so positively reaching that our nation would only benefit from it.

Of course there are those “Draft-Dodgers” or “Deferment-Sissies” who will protest any war at any length, because lets face it, who wants to have they’re “ass” on the line, being shot at. I do believe that their are real war protesters, and they shouldn’t be faced with the decision to wage war, however there are non-military options for those people.

Even people who go to college, and have babies can contribute to a Nationalized effort. Maybe we would learn to respect our fellow citizens in ways that seem all but forgotten. How many politicians understand the term, hurry up and wait! But I bet plenty of rocks have been painted, and sand has been swept in the desert to prepare for some politicians visit.

“Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radly porch was enough.” – To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee

JOIN THE MILITARY AND WALK AROUND IN OUR SHOES.

Abortion: Should it be legal? What or Why? I hear the arguments that say, it’s a woman’s right to chose, and it’s murder. But really… the argument is, when does life begin. Does it begin at conception? Is there any other option? Try first breath. For those who use the bible as their scientific evidence, the first man, was conceived given life with first breath. Read Gen 2:7. Not until He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, man became a living being. Case closed. …with that. So if it isn’t life then what is the argument? I think the real argument is why is the government getting involved? If you want to bring religion into it, then keep it to yourself, and if we are going to give rights to “un-born” children, where does it end? Sounds similar to Monty Python’s, “The Meaning of Life” with the scene about every sperm is sacred. Soon the government will be tasked to ban masterbation because the life potential seed of a man is being wasted.

• I guess it isn’t the politicians that make the laws that are to blame.
• It isn’t the President’s responsibility.
• It isn’t the State’s responsibility.

From the “It is Rocket Science” Department comes these $20,000 guys outta Washington State. I find it amazing that there are so many people trying to get this X Prize. Having done a little work in the fancy missile fixin’ world, I understand the complexities that are involved in launching a spacecraft. While it may seem expensive to spend $100 Million dollars for a launch vehicle program, there is a method to the madness. Honestly, the people who work in the US Space Program, both with NASA and the US Airforce, make the ordinary look extraordinary, everyday. And now you know!

Wash. State Team’s Private Rocket Explodes (washingtonpost.com): “QUEETS, Wash. – A team taking a low-budget stab at the $10 million Ansari X Prize for private manned spaceflight suffered a setback Sunday, when their rocket malfunctioned and exploded after shooting less than 1,000 feet in the air.”

Washington HistoryLink Database Essay: “He was an outspoken and influential advocate of increased military spending and a hard line against the Soviet Union, while supporting social welfare programs, civil rights, and the labor movement.”



Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (1912-1983), ca. 1972

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. UW857)

DNC Special Reports: Top 10 Bush Flip Flops: “The Bush Record: Top 10 Bush Flip Flops”

1. Bush Flip-Flops on Independent 9/11 Commission

2. Bush Flip-Flops on Independent WMD Commission

3. Bush Flip-Flops on Time He’ll Spend With 9/11 Commission

4. Bush Flip-Flops On Calling For A U.N. Vote On Iraq War

5. Bush Flip-Flops on Department Of Homeland Security

6. Bush Flip-Flops on Gay Marriage

7. Bush Flip-Flops on Using Military For Nation Building

8. Bush Flip-Flops on Hybrid Automobiles

9. Bush Flip-Flops on Assault Weapons Ban

10. Bush Flip-Flops on Steel Tariffs

I saw the M. Moore Film

The media wants you to believe that it is some sort of slanted documentary. Well, I suppose that it is and I’ll get to that. But in telling the story that it sets out to do, it gets an A.

This is somewhat of a spoiler if you read on, but how can you spoil history?

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In the beginning of the film, the Cast is introduced, putting on makeup and getting ready for their moments in front of the Camera.

Then we see what happened with the election where he slid by Al Gore, and how the Senate stood by while congress was protesting the election.

We see the President on Vacation, and it is reported that he is on vacation for a lot of his first year in office. The video footage used of Bush is full of “Bushisms”.

Then Moore shows us the presidents Service Record. (Pre-9/11) and after the whitehouse has had a chance to “sanitize” it.

This is the smoking gun of the movie.

This disqualifying paper has the name of Bush’s associate from the Air Force Guard that links Bush with the Saudi’s and yes… the Bin Ladens.

I had no idea that Bush was linked with Bin Laden. -J

Then Bam! 9/11 happens, and then Moore starts his journey into pre-supposition and commentary. What was the President thinking for 7 minutes while he sat there and did NOTHING after being informed about 9/11. If my kid was being hurt by someone, you know I’d be there in a heart beat, it’s an instinct. Moore then shows us the Money trail making the claim that Bin Laden and the Saudi’s have undo influence due to their financial dealings. Moreover he uses actual video coverage of the pre-presidential days of GW talking about his unparalleled access with his father, and how it makes him a powerful guy in the beltway.

Moore continues on to show relationships using news footage and other files of the relationships that existed among current government officials and foreign leaders with respect to Bush. Nepotism is an understatement.

Then it is on to the war. I really had thought that we were there because of weapons of Mass destruction. OK, the media was really trying to connect the Al-Qaida situation with Iraq, but infact, he has footage of Bush making the connection. I believe it was one of his addresses to congress where he made the claim.

Moore shows the youth of America, our Soldiers, fighting this war to keep the wealthy both rich and in power. At one point, he shows a US soldier who says he doesn’t understand why he gets paid barely $2000 a month, while a civilian working for Haliburton is getting paid Much More (I think it was like $10K or $20K) a month to drive a truck for 40 hours a week, while that US soldier making nearly nothing had to protect him. Mine and Your tax dollars at work.

He went on to show the gruesomeness of war, showing both Iraqi civilian and US Military Casualties. Showing soldiers with lost limbs being treated by the VA or other military hospitals. He goes on to tell how our congress and whitehouse aren’t even providing the support for Vets that they should that have served their country. And he worries about them being left behind.

Lastly he has a Mother whose son died in Iraq, and how losing a son to a war that seems more about the emotions of 9/11, continuing the feeling of insecurity, and getting that oil has changed her mind about her feeling of the war.

He shows how the military specifically targets lower income Americans to fight and join the military, because upper-income Americans can afford to not have their sons and daughters die protecting freedom. This included most all of congress and the senate.

Farhrenheit 9/11 is the temperature that blood boils at!

Michael Moore.com : Mike’s Message : Mike’s Latest News: “The Boston Globe 7/1

What Soldiers Ask From Government

I am shocked that many critics have denounced Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ as unpatriotic and antisoldier. For me, the movie served as a powerful (and painful) reminder of the costs of war _ and of my obligation as a citizen to hold our leaders accountable for making wise decisions about when to send our troops into combat.

Toward the end of the movie, Moore provides a voice-over to images of US soldiers in Iraq. He reminds us: ‘They serve so that we don’t have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is, remarkably, their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send them into harm’s way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they ever trust us again?’

‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ highlights crucial questions about the ‘necessity’ of the war in Iraq. Engaging these questions and holding our leaders accountable for their decisions to go to war are the best way we can support our troops.

Audrey Coulter, Brookline”